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Issues involved: Appeal for enhancement of redemption fine and penalty imposed on the respondent for importing used old photocopying machines without license.
Details of the Judgment: 1. The Customs authorities proposed to confiscate the imported goods due to misdeclaration of value and being in the prohibited category. The Additional Commissioner re-determined the assessable value at Rs. 16,39,690 and ordered confiscation u/s 111(d) & (m) of the Customs Act, 1962, with an option for redemption on payment of fine of Rs. 8,20,000 and penalty of Rs. 4,00,000. 2. In an appeal, the fine and penalty were reduced by the ld. Commissioner (Appeals) to Rs. 2.5 lakhs and Rs. 85,000 respectively. The Revenue contended that the margin of profit was not properly ascertained, citing Customs Appraising Manual norms. The JDR argued for restoration of the original redemption fine based on the CIF value. 3. The respondent's counsel argued that no market enquiry was conducted to determine the margin of profit, supporting the lower appellate authority's decision to reduce the fine and penalty. 4. The Tribunal found that the formula for margin of profit required market price data, which was not obtained in this case. The Chartered Engineer's valuation was based on contemporaneous import values, not a market enquiry. The Tribunal upheld the lower appellate authority's discretion in reducing the fine and penalty, dismissing the appeal. Conclusion: The appeal for enhancement of redemption fine and penalty was dismissed by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT MUMBAI.
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